All the dreams I've backed

Inspired by this post from curious quail, I've gone over my own list of Kickstarter projects I've backed over the years. And what I've found is a very high success rate! Most games I've backed actually shipped. But I also ended up backing many projects I ultimately have no interest in playing. My rating system is as follows:

⭐ - Don't waste your time

⭐⭐ - This was a bad experience

⭐⭐⭐ - It was a game

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This is pretty good, actually

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - You should definitely try this game!

DEAD SYNCHRONICITY

An absolutely amazing point & click adventure, and my wife is still mad they never finished the story.

15 hours played / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sheltered

A post-apocalyptic survival management game. Looking at it now, I don't recall why I stopped playing it. It is a game, I guess.

30 minutes played / ⭐⭐⭐

Catlateral Damage

Medium regrets on this one. The premise of playing a cat that causes havoc is fun, but the execution is so boring. All you do is swipe, swipe, swipe. I'm happy it exists, and that's about it.

4 hours played / ⭐

A Rite from the Stars

Why did I back this? Only the stars will know.

0 hours played / ❓

Yooka-Laylee

I'm actually super happy this game exists, even though I didn't play very much. I have no nostalgia for Banjo-Kazooie, but kid-friendly games were a dying breed before their Kickstarter renaissance!

5 hours played / ⭐⭐⭐

Dimension Drive

Looking at these stats made me wonder: What the hell happened here?? So I reinstalled Dimension Drive to find out, and it's an arcade top-down shoot-em-up that's split into two screens, making it even more brutally difficult to wrap your head around than a regular shoot-em-up.

15 minutes played / ⭐⭐

Jupiter Hell

Love too give gamedevs money for games I ultimately have little interest in.

42 minutes played / ⭐⭐

Sunless Skies

As a huge fan of Sunless Sea, I was very excited for "What if Sunless Sea, but in the sky, and with trains." Ultimately though, I found I could never quite get my head into it. I think that's a problem with me, and not the shipped game.

2 hours played / ⭐⭐⭐

Aryzon

Aryzon delivered a cardboard headset mount for augmented reality games, and an SDK to integrate it. The idea never really took off, but it was neat to play around with. I still have all the cardboard!

⭐⭐⭐

Girls Make Games: Find Me

Remember when we were all excited for girls to gasp make video games?? Anyway, the result is a pretty middling platformer made by a literal child.

8 minutes played

In Other Waters

I'm happy this game exists because its success led to Citizen Sleeper 1 & 2, two of my favorite games ever. But it was ehhh... not for me.

10 minutes played / ⭐⭐

Genesis Noir

One of those games I will finish "someday", but probably won't because I found its gameplay and narrative too annoying. Happy it exists, though.

70 minutes played / ⭐⭐

Dino Run 2

With an estimated delivery date of 2019, this game is, hilariously, still in development. The last update was from July this year! I've not followed too closely, but they've restarted the project several times. The latest build is just a sandbox with no levels. Looks cute, tho.

0 minutes played / ⭐

The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls

I've only had one opportunity to play the boardgame version of The Binding of Isaac, and it wasn't a great success. But the sticker sheet it came with has served me extremely well over the years.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Subverse

I was hugely excited for what a AAA version of an adult game could look like, but was ultimately disappointed by lackluster gameplay, terrible storytelling, and piss-poor integration of the sex.

5 hours played / ⭐

Lust from Beyond

To my shock and horror, I found out I've actually only played the Prologue of this game?? I had an amazing time with the Prologue itself, so I'm rectifying this error in judgement post-haste!

80 minutes played (pending) / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SkateBIRD

Amazing premise, pretty good execution, but I found something better to play. No ragrets in backing this one, though.

4 hours played / ⭐⭐⭐⭐

EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER

If nothing else, this game got me interested in the work of legendary game designer Heather Flowers. Even though I've never actually played it. 🙈

A MAZE. NOT DEAD

The art, games, and playful media festival was in serious trouble back in 2020, and this Kickstarter actually saved it!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Longest Road on Earth

Hated it.

9 minutes played / ⭐

Kaichu - Kaiju Dating Sim

Amazing premise. Lackluster implementation. It's fine.

1 hour played / ⭐⭐⭐

Tapeworm

I've actually played this boardgame several times! Easy rules and tons of fun. Recommending board games is tricky though, since they're always out of print.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Peachleaf Valley

A farming-inspired otome that's still in development, even though it was supposed to launch in 2022. They're launching in Early Access soon, so check it out!

DUSTBITERS

Love too back cool boardgames and then never play 'em. Cool stickers, tho.

Iragon 18+

Perhaps the worst erotic game I've ever played. The creators seem to actively resent having to make an adult game. For context, you pick a love interest at the start of the game, and then the other one immediately gets brutally murdered.

5 hours played / ⭐

Garden of Seif: Chronicles of an Assassin

Another dating sim I've backed, but never played. 😔

Death From Above

Remember the war in Ukraine? That was pretty bad, right. Luckily, that whole thing's over now!

39 minutes played / ⭐⭐⭐

Conclusion

Do not send me your Kickstarter game project, because I will back it and then never actually play it.